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Soie

(2009)

solo flute + 3(III=picc)23(III=bcl)2-2211-02-pf-hp-strings

Duration: 20'

commissioned by the Finnish Broadcasting Company

premier September 18, 2009 Petri Alanko and Finnish RSO cond. Dima Slobodeniouk

published by Fennica Gehrman

In speaking of the texture of music we mean the fabric woven together by the different instruments. My aim in composing my flute concerto Soie was not only to create a different textures but also to pinpoint the word fabric the latent images inherent in different weaves or textiles.

The title of the opening movement, Voile, is French and means not only a sail but also a veil or voile; what I had in mind was a light, transparent, flowing fabric. The short second movement Lin gros (coarse linen) is marked by such effects as pressurised, broken or muffled sounds. The last movement, Soie (silk), has lent its name to the whole concerto. The finale this time takes shape slowly and with restraint (despite the twisting and spinning of the silk).

Soie was commissioned by the Finnish Broadcasting Company and the weaving of the solo part was greatly inspired by the virtuosic musicianship of Petri Alanko.

Lotta Wennäkoski

The Guardian 11 June 2015 (Erica Jeal):

Finnish composer Lotta Wennäkoski has made a major addition to the flute concerto repertoire with Soie (2009). Its three movements are named after fabrics, and the music both evokes and rubs up against their textures. Voile has the billowing, tumbling flute played with fluttering and note-bending effects, echoed and egged on by the rest of the orchestra. Roughness and weight are less given to being evoked by this instrument, but in Lin Gros (rough linen), Wennäkoski manages it, with flautist Kersten McCall pushing his instrument to the edge; the title movement is a darkly atmospheric finale.

review in Gramophone:
https://www.gramophone.co.uk/review/wennäkoski-soie-hava-amor-omnia-suite